Work underway at site of new Regina stadium

Pinch yourself, Roughriderfans work is underway on the new football stadium in Regina.

It's just preliminary right now, with the site being cleared in Evraz Place just off Elphinstone Street, but earth-moving equipment isdefinitely onthe ground.

City officials said Friday that about $5.2 million worth of site work has been done, to date, out of a total site preparation budget of $28.2 million.

The stadium will also need to be serviced with a new watermain, according to the city. Work on that is set to begin Monday and will lead to a seven-week long disruption for Elphinstone Street, a major traffic corridor in Regina.

Motorists will find Elphinstone closed from Saskatchewan Driveto DewdneyAvenue. Detours will be in place and users of area facilities, such as the Lawson Aquatic Centre, will need to use alternate routes.

"We acknowledge that this is an inconvenience for motorists and residents and businesses and we appreciate your co-operation and support," Kelly Scherr, from the city, said Friday.

The 33,000-seat, open-air stadium is set to open in time for the 2017 CFL season.

Last month,PCLConstruction was selected as the preferred builder for the project, which is a replacement for aging Mosaic Stadium.

The city official in charge of the project said he understands that there are some people in Regina who continue to disagree with the $278-million project.

"I have no illusions that everybody is going to agree with everything we do," Brent Sjoberg, a top city manager, said Friday. "There's all kind of things going on in the city that some people like, some people don't like. That's part of a growing city."